Emergency vehicle cots (also known as ambulance cots) are specialized stretchers usually used in association with emergency vehicles. The ambulance cot is deemed to be specialized due to it being capable of easy loading into the emergency vehicle, namely, the wheeled base and support structure are collapsible as the cot is moved into the inside of the emergency vehicle to facilitate ambulance personnel to work on the patient lying on the cot in the fairly limited space inside the emergency vehicle. Although preexisting ambulance cots have been generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been satisfactory in all respects.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ambulance cot with an improved support mechanism with a safety mechanism which prevents a release of the locking mechanism for the vertical height adjustment unless both ends of the emergency cot are supported by emergency personnel as well as preventing an inadvertent release of the locking mechanism for collapsing the support mechanism to a "folded" position unless a control mechanism is purposefully activated and an adequate force is applied to the support mechanism as a result of engagement by the support mechanism with the emergency vehicle body to allow the support mechanism to undergo a collapsing movement and enable the ambulance cot to be housed inside the emergency vehicle in a condition wherein the overall height of the ambulance cot is reduced to a minimum dimension.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a control mechanism on the ambulance cot, as aforesaid, for preventing inadvertent collapsing of the support mechanism when the support mechanism is in its highest most position, known in the field as the "load positions".
It is a further object of the invention to provide an ambulance cot, as aforesaid, and a control mechanism, as aforesaid, which must be activated to enable the support mechanism to be released from its "load position" to allow the base to collapse toward the patient litter support to enable insertion of the ambulance cot easily into the emergency vehicle.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a control mechanism, as aforesaid, which is movable between activated and inactive states only when the ambulance cot is in the load position and which, in the activated state, permits a load process to begin by manual operation of only one handle of a two handle release mechanism, and which automatically resets to an inactive state upon a manual operation of the handle so that an abort of the load process caused by a release of the handle will always necessitate a reactivation of the control mechanism to enable the support mechanism to be released from its load position to allow the base to collapse toward the patient litter support mechanism to enable insertion of the now fully folded ambulance cot easily into the emergency vehicle.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a control mechanism, as aforesaid, which, when moved to an activated state, permits a lowering of the ambulance cot from the load position to positions below the load position only upon a manual operation of both handles of the release mechanism.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an ambulance cot, as aforesaid, wherein the control mechanism requires the attendance of two emergency personnel in order to effect movements of the support mechanism and the patient litter support thereon to positions intermediate the load position and the folded position.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an emergency vehicle bumper arrangement on the ambulance cot which will withstand rigorous contact with the emergency vehicle body structure during periods of time that the ambulance cot and the support mechanism thereon are being collapsed to the folded position.